What do you think about Joss' tendency to bring characters back to life?

[Chosen Enemy]

Sometimes bringing a character back to life is necessary for the plot, like Buffy, you can't continue a show about Buffy without Buffy. But sometimes it seems as though Joss kills off a character for the effect and shock, and then bring them back just because he feels like it. And it became too much at some point. Because as much as I love some of the characters that died, I wouldn't bring them back, that's stupid and tiring. Wouldn't it be better not to kill them off at all in the first place?

What do you think? Do you think that the fact that it's a supernatural show should give Joss the freedom to bring back a dead character anytime he wants? And when was it really necessary? Would you prefer that a character that you loved and died wouldn't come back just because their death plot becomes pointless or for another reason that you might have?

 

[shadcat]

I understand Buffy coming back to life because she died by mystical element....and I haven't read season 8 regarding Warren. (Comics exaggerate EVERYTHING..so I won't even count it as cannon since the show ended for me with S7)

but what I don't get is how Darla came back to life in Angel. That was just a bit over the top. How can a "dusted" vampire return?

 

[dj651]

There are no resurrections that I wish hadn't happened just because I love these characters so much. I would have been upset about Spike coming back in Ats, but it gives me the slightest hope that he and Buffy will finally get the chance to be happy.

What I find interesting is that other than Doyle, the only major characters who stay dead are women. Jenny Calendar, Joyce, Tara, Anya, Cordy, Fred, Lilah. Both Spike and Angel came back and were alive at the end of the series.

 

[sisterofmercy]

I think it was fine in the show as only mystical characters like Buffy and Angel really came back to life, which made sense. It was a bit unnecessary for Spike to come back in Angel, though I'm glad he did as I wouldn't have watched it, and the comics take it too far with Warren.

I think there's only a certain number of times you can use the resurrection card, Joss has pretty much maxed it out. Any more and it just gets silly, the next time Buffy dies I hope she stays dead.

 

[SlayerOfVampyrs]

I've seen this discussed time and time again, as though Joss has brought back this absurd number of characters. I just don't get it, quite honestly.

By my count, he's brought back...4, unless I am missing someone? (Keep in mind that I haven't read the comics since the ridiculous Warren showed up, and I DO NOT count them as canon.) They were all mystical characters that were brought back, and all of them had repercussions for having been brought back. The second time Buffy died, she suffered for it in 3 different ways, if I recall correctly.

Angel was brought back, yes, but again...His consequences, if you will, lie in both that he went to hell when he died, and that he was a monster when he came back.

Darla, again..Brought back. And I don't know if I think if this was over the top or not. On one hand, they didn't actually bring a vampire back to life, they brought a human back to life. So I think that in a way, maybe, they simply formed a body around her soul? I don't think that they necessarily just up and reconstructed dust. Either way, she did suffer consequences, in that she was still dying from the same disease that was killing her when she was mortal before.

Spike...I haven't watched Angel season 5 in forever, and I'd only ever seen it on its first run through...But didn't he come back as a sort of phantom at first? Or something to that effect? Trapped between the world of the living and the dead? Forgive me if my memory is hazy on that bit. Either way, there were consequences for him, as well.

At any rate, I don't think any, save Spike, of the people that he brought back to the show after dying, were in the least bit unnecessary, or even contrived, really. I think that if he'd brought back Tara, as he said he was going to do, but Amber Benson said no, I think that would have definitely, without a doubt, had him pulling the 'I brought this character back because I and the fans all LUFF her,' card. I think that would have taken away any meaning in her death whatsoever, and it also would have made anything that Willow did as Dark Willow a moot point, in a way.

For all of the REALLY important, ground shaking, earth shattering deaths, he kept them dead - Despite fan outcry.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I've seen this discussed time and time again, as though Joss has brought back this absurd number of characters. I just don't get it, quite honestly.

By my count, he's brought back...4, unless I am missing someone? (Keep in mind that I haven't read the comics since the ridiculous Warren showed up, and I DO NOT count them as canon.) They were all mystical characters that were brought back, and all of them had repercussions for having been brought back. The second time Buffy died, she suffered for it in 3 different ways, if I recall correctly.

Angel was brought back, yes, but again...His consequences, if you will, lie in both that he went to hell when he died, and that he was a monster when he came back.

Darla, again..Brought back. And I don't know if I think if this was over the top or not. On one hand, they didn't actually bring a vampire back to life, they brought a human back to life. So I think that in a way, maybe, they simply formed a body around her soul? I don't think that they necessarily just up and reconstructed dust. Either way, she did suffer consequences, in that she was still dying from the same disease that was killing her when she was mortal before.

Spike...I haven't watched Angel season 5 in forever, and I'd only ever seen it on its first run through...But didn't he come back as a sort of phantom at first? Or something to that effect? Trapped between the world of the living and the dead? Forgive me if my memory is hazy on that bit. Either way, there were consequences for him, as well.

At any rate, I don't think any, save Spike, of the people that he brought back to the show after dying, were in the least bit unnecessary, or even contrived, really. I think that if he'd brought back Tara, as he said he was going to do, but Amber Benson said no, I think that would have definitely, without a doubt, had him pulling the 'I brought this character back because I and the fans all LUFF her,' card. I think that would have taken away any meaning in her death whatsoever, and it also would have made anything that Willow did as Dark Willow a moot point, in a way.

For all of the REALLY important, ground shaking, earth shattering deaths, he kept them dead - Despite fan outcry.

I'll try to count them:
Buffy
Angel
Spike
Darla
You can count Fred as Illyria, not sure, I just think he won't let her go, not that I have something against Fred/Illyria

Which doesn't seem very long, unless you read the spoilers about both comics:

Spoiler

Warren
Giles (maybe)
Wesley
Cordelia
And Gunn was sired, so he wasn't exactly brought back to life, but he was still there, another example of Joss' way of not being able to let go, he just kills off a character, and brings her back in anyway even if it's in another form-like Fred.

A "bit" no much, heh?

 

[InsaneMystic]

Yeah, he's overdoing it to the point of "death is cheap"... while not yet reaching a tongue-in-cheek running gag levels bordering on self parody. (*cough*Xena*cough*... anyone remember my very very old signature button "Hey, I've died twice... - Amateur!" 😉) Much as I wish some people

Spoiler

- like Giles first and foremost 🙁 -

hadn't been killed off in the first place, the rezzing shtick really getting old if he intends to keep playing it straight.

 

[white avenger]

Joss has resurrected so many characters by now that having them die isn't anything drastic, the way that it should be. As of now, of the major characters on the two shows, only Doyle and Tara have actually died and NOT been seen or heard from again later. "Oh, death, where is thy sting?" seems to describe the Buffyverse perfectly. Death isn't a tragedy, it's more like a brief vacation from the action.

 

[Jodast]

I am torn on this. The shows are set in a universe where mystical, magical things are an everyday occurrence for a certain section of society, so they experience situations which the rest of the world doesn't. Resurrection, revivication and reanimation included. Which I am cool with and fully accept as part of my suspension of disbelief.

From a purely dramatic point of view, continually bringing characters back from the dead lessens the shock effect of dying and as such, the viewing pleasure, when we know that there is always a chance that character x will be back in a little while.

In the commentary for WTTH Joss mentions that he wanted to put Eric Balfour in the main cast list so that it would be a shock when Jesse gets turned and ultimately dusted and would give an 'anything can happen' vibe to the show. That would have been a cool way to start things off and would perhaps have lessened the apathy people seem to have towards character death later on.

That having been said, I cried like a small child when Tara died. 🙁

So after contradicting myself a lot this is my conclusion:

Bringing characters back cheapens the drama of death but when it's my favourite character it still pulls the heartstrings more than it should for a man in his (at the time) mid 20s.

 

[Taake]

I think it was fine in the show as only mystical characters like Buffy and Angel really came back to life, which made sense. It was a bit unnecessary for Spike to come back in Angel, though I'm glad he did as I wouldn't have watched it, and the comics take it too far with Warren.

I think there's only a certain number of times you can use the resurrection card, Joss has pretty much maxed it out. Any more and it just gets silly, the next time Buffy dies I hope she stays dead.

Completely agreed, I think on a ( 'mystical') show such as Buffy/Angel there are a few times when you can play the ressurection card. When it's really necessary.
Beyond that it's always going to be a bit of a gamble... and frankly to me Joss has played all of his cards by now.

I just feel like he's been playing fast and loose with the rules of his own 'verse for a while and now arbitrarily picking and chosing who's to stay dead and who's to be ressurected... it's just getting a touch ridiculous. You can break the rules once or twice... but more than that... it just makes the writers and him look bad in my eyes. Why not bring them all back? Why not gloss over all the bad stuff that happened on the show? *rolls eyes* Yes, I like consequences to be played out properly in my stories... if you're not gonna go through with it completely then don't kill a character just for shock value

 

[dexeded]

The comics are flat-out bad, so I won't go on about that.

As for the show itself... There were too many resurrections for my liking, I think, but I loved all the stories that came from them. For example, I hated it when Angel came back, but AtS was excellent. I also thinks Spike's death in S7 was very well-crafted and lost its impact when he came back in AtS S5, but I just love Spike, Spangel and AtS S5 far too much to quibble.